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Law and Magic
The legal system of the Empire divides court cases into four main categories with two distinct axes. Every case is either Civil or Criminal AND either Mundane or Magical. There are specific rules and guidelines for each type of case. Generally, in mundane cases, the use of magic is frowned upon, except for some spells for collecting evidence. There are, however, some mundane cases of national importance which do allow for stretching the rules of what magic is considered acceptable. The rejection of magic in court cases in some areas of the Empire are so extreme that courthouses are constructed within Null Magic Zones to ensure that there can be no magical meddling in the proceedings. There are several reasons for this, one of the biggest of which being magic's ability to distort reality. With magic it is fools play to fabricate evidence, to conjure bloody daggers into innocent hands, to claim that you got a confession from using a spell of Speak Truth when really you used a spell of Command to force the suspect to condemn themselves. There was a time where there were state assigned and trusted Law Mages to ensure that such foul play was not committed, but trusting so much power into the hands of mages who are such a small percentage of the populace and who are generally uninterested in the lives of ordinary men proved to be a failure. Too often the Law Mages would become obsessed with creating order over justice, or simply falling into the path of corruption. Taking the law out of the hands of Law Mages, removing magic from the court, and ensuring that anybody could become a judge made the legal system more equal and just. Cases Civil Mundane (CiMu) If both plaintiffs are nonmages, only nonmages can serve in the jury. Criminal Mundane (CriMu) Anybody can be in the jury. Civil Magical (CiMa) If both plaintiffs are mages, only mages can serve in the jury. Criminal Magical (CriMa) Anybody can be in the jury. Order Over Justice The concept of Order Over Justice was the modus operandi for many of the Law Mages. This led them to commit crimes of their own to try to protect the social order and security of the community they served. In the less extreme cases, this involved them fabricating evidence against suspects that they were almost certain had committed crimes, or believed that they would eventually if they were let go. In more extreme cases, this concept manifested itself in mages mind controlling people to pretend to be champions of certain social groups or causes, and compelling them to commit crimes. This gave the lawmakers in those areas more leeway with creating laws to regulate conduct among those groups. Some Law Mages believed themselves to be guiding their communities to a greater good, while others acted only out of wickedness and the desire to secure their own power. Eventually the Law Mages were removed from the legal system, but there are many who still maintain the philosophy of Order Over Justice, especially members of the Grand Order Secret Society The Emperor made a statement on this matter: "There are many who believe that the purpose of a justice system is to maintain order. While order and justice do go hand in hand, it does not mean that justice can be reduced to a means or order and justice must never be compromised for the sake of creating order. No innocent should ever be made an unwilling martyr no matter how noble the cause. Laws should exist to promote justice, not the other way around."